Skinrepublic

Dear Dr. Jen,

One side of my face seems to have more warts and freckles than the other side.  Is this always the case?

Golda

Dear Golda,

In most people who drive, the left side of the face will usually contain more skin tags and freckles as well as larger dark spots.  This is because the left side of the face, and possibly the left arm, is being exposed to ultraviolet rays while driving.  UVB can very well penetrate glass windows.  Sun exposure may cause these kinds of damages and give way to wrinkles eventually.

Treatment is usually with a cream containing some form of bleach (hydroquinone or licorice).  Skin tags (“warts” in lay man’s terms) can be zapped out by using cautery or laser.  Another good thing you can do right now is to take in more antioxidant-rich foods and to start using sunblock daily.

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Dear Dr. Jen,

How exactly does smoking damage your skin?

Bonny

Dear Bonny,

In people who’ve smoked for a long time, you can easily tell that they do so just by looking at their skin. They usually look older than their age with more loose skin under the eyes, pale or uneven skin tone, lines around the lips, and more pronounced aged spots. 

Microscopically, the elastic and collagen fibers are damaged (loose, saggy skin), blood vessels are narrowed (loss of skin glow), and decreased moisture (coarse, dry skin).  If ageing skin and lung cancer is not enough to deter you from smoking, also consider the skin cancer and other diseases that arise from it.